Ranking Members Raskin, Scanlon Launch Inquiry into Trump DOJ’s Abusive and Baseless Prosecution of Southern Poverty Law Center
Whistleblower Disclosures Allege Pressure to Fast-Track Legally Deficient Case Against Civil Rights Organization for Its Crucial Role Exposing the Truth About Violent Extremist Organizations
Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government, launched an inquiry into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) politically motivated prosecution of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a preeminent civil rights organization with a decades-long record of investigating and combating white supremacist and extremist violence.
The Ranking Members sent dual letters to Associate Deputy Attorney General (ADAG) Aakash Singh and Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Kevin Davidson, demanding answers following alarming whistleblower disclosures to the Committee that senior DOJ leadership, including Mr. Singh, ordered prosecutors in the Middle District of Alabama to fast-track a legally deficient indictment of the SPLC despite significant concerns about the strength of the case.
“If ‘weaponization of the government’ means anything, it surely includes arresting, investigating, and prosecuting individuals and groups simply for making political statements the President dislikes. It must mean prosecuting a major and respected civil rights organization that has fought the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis for decades simply for having the audacity to call the President’s loyal shock troops who stormed the Capitol on January 6 white nationalists and domestic terrorists,” wrote the Ranking Members.
Last week’s indictment targets the SPLC’s longstanding practice of using informants to infiltrate and expose violent extremist groups—a tactic widely used by federal law enforcement itself. DOJ’s case is further undermined by the fact that the FBI has used information provided by SPLC informants for years.
“In a move that would make George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth blush,” the Ranking Members wrote, DOJ has advanced the theory that infiltrating and undermining violent extremist groups amounts to supporting them.
The case also alleges that the SPLC defrauded its donors, even though the organization has long touted its use of informants and insiders to donors and the public and regularly released reports based on documenting the results of its investigations. DOJ has failed to identify any victims or evidence of deception.
This prosecution is part of a broader pattern of DOJ actions targeting civil society, political opponents and dissent. Mr. Singh, believing his job is to carry out the President’s political vendettas instead of upholding the Constitution has directed prosecutors to “go big” and “go loud” against protestors, while expanding the use of federal statutes to pursue meritless cases that have overwhelmingly resulted in dismissals or failed prosecutions.
“These actions, taken in reckless disregard of citizens’ constitutional rights, represent a serious breach of DOJ’s duty to administer justice impartially and in accordance with the Constitution,” wrote the Ranking Members.
Ranking Members Raskin and Scanlon are requesting that Mr. Singh appear for a transcribed interview and that both Mr. Singh and Mr. Davidson produce extensive records, including communications related to the SPLC indictment, internal DOJ directives, and the use of federal law enforcement authorities to investigate protestors and civil society organizations. The Committee is also demanding confirmation that all relevant DOJ documents and communications are being preserved.
Click here to read the letter to ADAG Aakash Singh.
Click here to read the letter to Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Kevin Davidson.